MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS OF PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH FAMILY PHYSICIAN
Abstract
Background. Patient satisfaction is an indicator of the quality of care.
Methods. We used an internationally standardised and validated instrument for patients’ evaluations of general practice care developed in a series of studies. Sample. 60 consecutive patients in 36 practices in Slovenia were approached and offered a self-administered questionnaire.
Results. I’ve got 84% response rate. The respondents’ mean age was 50 years. 64% were female, and 36% male. Higher satisfaction was predicted by eight variables: higher age of the patient, higher number of office visits, patient satisfaction with the organisation of the health care system, lower self-evaluated health status, lower number of anxiety and depression signs, not being visited in home during out of hours services, higher number of home visits made by a family practitioner daily and active appointment system.
Conclusions. The patients evaluate parts of the health care system as a whole. The survey showed necessary changes in order to improve patient satisfaction. Introduction of appointment system in primary care seems to be unavoidable. Communication skill besides family medicine curricula and vocational training in family medicine should be included in each curricula for undergraduate teaching as well in vocational training. Those who did not benefit of such training courses in communication skills should be offered. Home visits as one of the basic characteristics of family practice should be supported professionally and with financial incentives.
Downloads
References
Kersnik J. Zadovoljstvo bolnikov. Med Razgl 1999; 38: 389–94.
Hovnik-Keršmanc M et al. Zadovoljstvo bolnikov s trajanjem prvih obiskov pri vzorcu zdravnikov družinske medicine v Sloveniji v letu 1991. Zdrav Var 1994; 33: 165–8.
Kersnik J, Bossman P, Švab I. Vodilni razlogi bolnikov pri izbiri osebnega zdravnika družinske medicine. Zdrav Var 1998; 37: 185–90.
Macur M. Privatisation and the quality of health-care services. Družboslovne razprave 1999; 15: 50–70.
Kersnik J. Postal survery of patients’ satisfaction with general practice after changing their personal general practitioner. J Clin Goverance 1999; 7: 138–42.
Grol R, Wensing M, Mainz J, Ferreira P, Hearnshaw H, Hjortdahl P, Olesen F, Ribacke M, Spenser T, Szécsényi. Patients’ priorities with respect to general practice care: an international comparison. Fam Pract 1999; 16: 4–11.
Kersnik J. Patients’s satisfaction with family practice: comparison between Europe and Slovenia. Zdrav Vestn 2000; 69: 5–10.
Dolan P. Modeling valuations for EuroQol health states. Med Care 1997; 35: 1095–8.
Kersnik J, Šorli J. Kakovost v zdravstvu: predlog za razpravo o politiki kakovosti v zdravstvu. Zdrav Vestn 1997; 66: 205–8.
Kersnik J. Determinants of customer satisfaction with the health care system, with the posibility to choose a personal physician and with a family doctor in a transition country. Health Policy (v tisku).
Grielen SJ, Boerma WGW, Groenewegen PP. Science in practice: can health care reform projects in central and eastern Europe be evaluated systematically? Health Policy 2000; 53: 73–89.
Howie JGR, Porter AMD, Heaney DJ, Hopton JL. Long to short consultation ratio: a proxy measure of quality of care for general practice. BJGP 1991; 41: 48–54.
Probst JC, Greenhouse DL, Selassie AW. Patient and physician satisfaction with an outpatient care visit. J Fam Pract 1997; 45: 418–25.
Fairfield G, Hunter DJ, Mechanic D, Dubo R, Rosleff F. Managed care: Implications of managed care for health systems, clinicians, and patients. BMJ 1997; 314: 1895–8.
Hall JA, Dornan MC. Patient sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of satisfaction with medical care: a metaanalysis. Soc Sci Med 1990; 30: 811–8.
Baker R. Characteristics of practices, general practitioners and patients related to levels of patients’ satisfaction with consultations. Br J Gen Pract 1996; 46: 601–5.
Kersnik J. Sodelovanje med bolnikom in zdravnikom. In: Švab I ed. Sporazumevanje med zdravnikom in bolnikom. 12. učne delavnice za zdravnike splošne medicine. Ljubljana: Sekcija za splošno medicino Slovenskega zdravniškega društva, 1995; 33–9.
Ljubljana: Sekcija za splošno medicino Slovenskega zdravniškega društva, 1995; 33–9.
Da Costa D, Clarke AE, Dobkin PL, Senecal JL, Fortin PR, Danoff DS, Esdaile JM. The relationship between health status support and satisfaction with medical care among patients with systematic lupus erythematosus. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 1999; 11: 201–7.
Perneger TV, Vouilloz M, Grender B, Barros J, Froidevaux J, Froidevaux P. Patient satisfaction with emergency calls. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 1997; 9: 367–75.
Wensing M, Grol R, Asberg J, van Montfort P, van Weel C, Felling A. Does the health status of chronically ill patients predict their judgements of the quality of general practice care? Qual Life Res 1997; 6: 293–9.
Cooper-Patrick L, Gallo JJ, Gonzales JJ, Vu HT, Powe NR, Nelson CRN, Ford DE. Race, gender, and partnership in the patient-physician relationship. JAMA 1999; 282: 583–9.
Jung HP, Van Horne F, Wensing M, Hearnshaw H, Grol R. Which aspects of general practitioners behaviour determine patients evaluations of care? Soc Sci Med 1998; 47: 1077–87.
The Author transfers to the Publisher (Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal) all economic copyrights following form Article 22 of the Slovene Copyright and Related Rights Act (ZASP), including the right of reproduction, the right of distribution, the rental right, the right of public performance, the right of public transmission, the right of public communication by means of phonograms and videograms, the right of public presentation, the right of broadcasting, the right of rebroadcasting, the right of secondary broadcasting, the right of communication to the public, the right of transformation, the right of audiovisual adaptation and all other rights of the author according to ZASP.
The aforementioned rights are transferred non-exclusively, for an unlimited number of editions, for the term of the statutory
The Author can make use of his work himself or transfer subjective rights to others only after 3 months from date of first publishing in the journal Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal.
The Publisher (Zdravniški vestnik/Slovenian Medical Journal) has the right to transfer the rights, acquired parties without explicit consent of the Author.
The Author consents that the Article be published under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 (attribution-non-commercial) or comparable licence.
